Empire 8 Conference Players of the Week - April 8
Empire 8 Players of the Week
April 1 – April 7
Baseball
Player – Justin Graham, St. John Fisher (Junior, Webster, N.Y.)
Graham helped lead the Cardinals to five wins last week including two against nationally-ranked Oswego State as the junior infielder hit .440 overall. He was 11-for-25 on the week with four extra base hits including two home runs, a triple and a double to go along with eight runs scored and seven RBI out of the leadoff spot. Graham posted a slugging percentage of .800 and had a .950 fielding percentage. Against Oswego, he went 4-for-5 in the opening game with a career-high five RBI before hitting his second long ball of the series in the nightcap.
Pitcher – Brandon Joslin, Houghton (Junior, Lockport, N.Y.)
Joslin tossed his first career complete-game shutout, blanking SUNY Canton in the second game of the series on Friday, 7-0. He allowed only four hits and four walks, while striking out seven. The win lowered his team-leading ERA to 1.91 on the season.
Rookie – Jack Kelleher, St. John Fisher (Freshman, Queensbury, N.Y.)
Kelleher had a career week for Fisher as the Cardinals won all five of their contests, including a sweep of nationally-ranked Oswego State. For the week, he went 7-for-17 (.412) to go along with two doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored. The freshman infielder posted a slugging percentage of 1.059 and recorded an on-base percentage of nearly .500. Kelleher's biggest outing came against Oswego State as he blasted two home runs in the series before adding a third in a sweep of Moravian College on Sunday.
Men’s Lacrosse
Player – Ryan Gebhardt, Stevens (Sophomore, Baldwinsville, N.Y.)
Gebhardt was awesome in the Ducks’ only game of the week as he totaled six goals, including his 100th career goal as No. 11 Stevens topped Alfred 20-5. He also scooped up three ground balls and caused a turnover as well.
Goalkeeper – Brandon Maresca, Sage (Freshman, Roxbury, N.J.)
Maresca helped the Gators in net collect their first Empire 8 win. For the week, had a 8.67 GAA with 24 saves and 13 goals allowed in 90 minutes of work.
Women’s Lacrosse
Player – Kyra Bednarski, Stevens (Junior, Syracuse, N.Y.)
Bednarski totaled 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 total points as Stevens went 2-1 during the review period. She also added one caused turnover, picked up four ground balls and converted her only free-position attempt in helping lead the Ducks to a pair of wins.
Goalkeeper – Claire Frier, Utica (Freshman, Lafayett, N.Y.)
Frier made three saves in 54:41 of action to earn the shutout win for Utica in their 26-0 rout of Alfred.
Softball
Player – Sammie Torlish, St. John Fisher (Sophomore, Victor, N.Y.)
Torlish caught fire last week as the sophomore helped lead Fisher to a 5-3 record that including Empire 8 sweeps of Sage and Utica. She went 12-for-23 (.522) with a home run, five RBI and nine runs scored. The sophomore shortstop had a slugging percentage of .652 and an on-base percentage of .542. Against Empire 8 competition, Torlish was nearly impossible to retire as she combined to go 9-for-11 against the Gators and Pioneers.
Pitcher – Jessica Wilcox, Alfred (Junior, Forestville, N.Y.)
Wilcox went 4-1 on the week including a one-hit win over #10 Ithaca. She finished the week with 21 strikeouts, allowing only four earned runs over 25 innings pitched on the week, equaling an ERA of 1.09. She also moved into sole possession of fourth all-time in strikeouts at Alfred with 260.
Men’s Tennis
Player – Stephen Gervase, Elmira (Junior, Lebanon, Conn.)
Gervase helped Elmira win its second consecutive match and open E8 play 2-0 by beating Utica on Saturday afternoon, 6-3. He won at 1st doubles by an 8-5 score, before winning at 1st singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. He has won back-to-back No. 1 doubles matches, both against E8 opponents, and three out of his last four No. 1 singles matches.
Outdoor Track & Field
Men’s Track Athlete – Eddie Mahana, St. John Fisher (Junior, Cicero, N.Y.)
Mahana flew to the finish line in the 400-meter hurdles as the Cicero native gave the Cardinals a win with a blistering 53.37 time. The mark now ranks Mahana third overall in the nation.
Men’s Field Athlete – Keanu Heedram, Utica (Junior, Rochester, N.Y.)
Heedram had another memorable performance in his specialty event, the shot put, at this weekend's Hamilton Invitational while winning two events. He rewrote his own school and Empire 8 conference outdoor record in the shot with a mark of 16.38 meters to place first at the meet. His throw would be the third-best nationally in the rankings at the start of the day's competition. Heedram also won the discus in a throw of 46.75 meters.
Women’s Track Athlete – Kerry Flower, Sage (Freshman, Schenectady, N.Y.)
For the third straight week, Sage’s Kerry Flower set another school record. This time Flower won the 10,000 meter run with a time of 38:43.00 to win the race at the Smith College Invitational, a non-team scored meet on Saturday. The time is currently 29
th-best in the nation in the event.
Women’s Field Athlete – Danielle Perry, Alfred (Junior, Leicester, N.Y.)
Perry was five inches away from breaking her own school record in the triple jump on Saturday at the Muhlenberg Invitational as she marked a 10.79m distance good enough for fourth place. She also hit 4.84m in the long jump for a seventh place finish. Earlier in the week, at Alfred State College for the Allegany County Classic, Perry took second in the triple jump with a hop-skip-jump of 10.53m.
Men’s Volleyball
Player – David Lehman, Stevens (Junior, Oakland, Calif.)
Lehman finished Stevens' 3-0 weekend averaging 3.89 kills per set. The Oakland, California native collected double-digit kills in each match, including a team-high 13 against No. 6 Southern Virginia. The junior opposite added 13 digs and five blocks over the three matches. It’s the second straight week he’s been honored by the league with this award.
Rookie – Josh Bigford, St. John Fisher (Freshman, Cicero, N.Y.)
Bigford and Fisher wrapped up its regular season schedule with three non-conference matches versus Wells, UC Santa Cruz, and Hunter. Over the course of the three matches, he totaled 55 kills, a .235 average hitting percentage, six blocks, and 31 digs. The freshman notched a career-high 26 kills in the five-set thriller with Hunter, while also posting 16 digs and a .323 hitting percentage. He also led the Cardinals with a team-high 17 kills versus Santa Cruz to go along with two blocks and six digs.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com and
https://youtu.be/wzL4HcDoUUQ